Is Melanie a monster or a prodigy? The title of this post refers to the first of our thrilling reads of the day, The Girl with all the Gifts, in which one character, Sergeant Parks, thinks of Melanie as “the nightmare-that-walks-like-a-girl.” He’d rather deal with blood-thirsty zombies than with something that walks and talks like [...]

Trilogies. How many of us shudder at the thought? How many of us miss those great standalone novels? A whole story arc in one book – imagine! On the other hand, many readers enjoy knowing that there is more to come. In a student bookgroup meeting last week, as we discussed what to read next, [...]

What began with Feed and continued with Deadline, now concludes with Blackout. Oh, and there’s Countdown, a novella that goes back to the origins of the zombie plague. And another titled San Diego 2014, which takes place during Comic-Con. Seems like Grant is hardly finished with this world! There is a fun piece on the Orbit [...]

Devil’s Wake, the first in a new series by husband and wife writing team Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due, adds welcome diversity to the crowded zombie field. Tananarive Due is author of the acclaimed African Immortals series, which can also be recommended to young adults. It includes My Soul to Keep, The Living Blood, Blood Colony, and My Soul to Take. [...]

The colorful, unusual cover of J.R. Angelella’s first novel is bound to inspire curiosity in teens, don’t you think? It’s hard to tell just what it might contain. The answer — a different sort of coming-of-age story which, despite its title, harbors no zombies. Instead, a zombie movie-obsessed teen boy. The review on Paste is a [...]

First, I have to say how thrilled I am that AB4T has been nominated for an Edublog Award in the Best Librarian/Library Blog category. I certainly share the honor with the many fellow librarians who contribute book reviews and guest posts to this blog. It is a wonderfully collaborative effort, which is what makes this [...]

Jonathan Maberry, author of popular YA novels Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay (both Simon & Schuster, 2010 & 2011 respectively), is out with a new adult zombie novel this week. Maberry debuted Dead of Night as a special guest at ZomBcom 2011 this weekend. You may also know Maberry for his Joe Ledger novels, [...]

The first in Mira Grant’s Newsflesh series, Feed, was the second book ever reviewed on this blog, back in October. Since then, Feed has been nominated for the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Novel (awarded by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy novel). The Newsflesh series webpage, on Grant’s site, [...]

It is 1592, and zombies have overtaken London. Who better to stop the undead than Shakespeare? And oh yes, Shakespeare is himself a vampire because, really, how could anyone write so many great works in one lifetime? HANDELAND, Lori. Shakespeare Undead. 320p. St. Martin’s/Griffin. 2010. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-0-312-64152-8. LC 2010014437. Adult/High School–Sure, this is [...]

Cherie Priest’s first Clockwork Century novel, Boneshaker (Tor, 2009) won the 2010 Locus Award for Best SF Novel and was nominated for both the Nebula and the Hugo. If you are looking for a review, check out this one by Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing. Today’s book, Dreadnought, is the second novel in her steampunk Clockwork Century [...]

About Adult Books 4 Teens

The Adult Books 4 Teens blog was created to help librarians who work with teenagers find the best books published for the adult market that have appeal to teen readers. We provide recommendations and reviews, commentary and news about titles in all genres and formats: narrative nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, thrillers and mysteries, memoirs, fantasy and science fiction, contemporary realism, arts and crafts and more.

With very few exceptions, only positive reviews will be published, so the appearance of a review should be considered a recommendation.

Angela Carstensen is Head Librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart, a
> K-12 private girls school in New York City. Contact her via Twitter @AngeReads.

Mark Flowers is the Young Adult Librarian at John F. Kennedy Library in Vallejo, CA, a branch of the Solano County Library. Contact him via Twitter @droogmark.